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(Note: This post was first published by the News Sentinel, HERE and updates previous post HERE.)
State Rep. Andy Holt is urging Tennesseans to ignore traffic camera tickets and emphasizing his point by burning a citation in a video that apparently has received more than 325,000 Facebook views.

“What do you do if you get one? Throw it in the trash. Personally, I prefer to burn mine,” says Holt, R-Dresden, in a lengthy news release issued in conjunction with posting the video on his Facebook page Wednesday, which shows him using a cigarette lighter to set the ticket aflame.

But Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said in an email Thursday that Holt is not offering sound advice.

“No one likes to be caught violating traffic offenses, regardless of how they are caught, but they have a legal obligation to properly address it. Burning a citation or throwing it away is an emotional response that may feel good, but it does not make the violation and accountability go away,” Rausch said.

Holt, a longtime critic of traffic camera tickets who has repeatedly called for banning them outright in Tennessee, was joined by state Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, this year in sponsoring a bill, HB2510, that requires all citations resulting from a traffic camera video to include this notice:

State Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, has taken to burning traffic cameras tickets and urging others to do the same or at least toss them into the trash. Holt posted a video of his own ticket burning on his Facebook page Wednesday — it’s HERE — and, as of Thursday morning, it had about 259,000 views.

The lawmaker has a lengthy press release on the matter, which includes contentions that cities and traffic camera companies are violating the law. The full release is HERE. An excerpt is below: Continue reading →

With the end of the legislative session in sight, some House Republicans are making preparations to allow themselves to come back to Nashville in the event that Gov. Bill Haslam overrides any other bills this year, according to The Tennessean.

“I feel like there’s a need for us to go ahead and go through the process of collecting signatures,” Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, told The Tennessean on Thursday.

…There are two ways lawmakers can return for a veto override session: They can either have two-thirds of the members of each chamber petition the speakers or wait for Haslam to call them back in.

Holt opted to take the more proactive approach.

“We’re trying to make preparations to let our leadership know that there is potentially a necessity for this reorganization, maybe 30 days after we adjourn,” he said.

While handing over a sheet of signatures to an assistant to the House clerk, Holt said he had already obtained the “magic number” required.

Holt said the collection of signatures has been a “team effort” that even included involvement from a portion of the chamber’s leadership.

Although Holt did not offer many specifics about which bills he thought could be potential veto candidates, he conceded that he was worried about Haslam vetoing the bill to defund the University of Tennessee’s diversity program and a measure to allow guns on campuses, which Holt sponsored.

…Holt said he was unsure whether anyone in the Senate was collecting signatures but added, “There is obvious tension regarding some of the legislation that’s been passed.”

Despite the House’s efforts, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey on Thursday said he did not see the need for a potential veto override session.

“I’ve spoken with the governor and everything, and I feel relatively comfortable where we are right now,” he said. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Ramsey said Haslam reassured him “several days ago” if there was anything on his mind that could potentially be vetoed the governor would give him an advanced warning.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dropped a complaint seeking $177,500 in fines from a state lawmaker for discharging waste from his northwestern Tennessee hog farm without a permit.

The EPA withdrew the filing against Rep. Andy Holt after the Dresden Republican agreed to an order of consent on the closure of two lagoons on his property. The agency reserved the right to refile the complaint if Holt fails to comply with the order.

Holt called the resolution of the dispute an “interesting process,” and thanked supporters for standing by his family.

According to the August complaint, Holt’s farm discharged a total of more than 860,000 gallons from lagoons on the farm raising nearly 1,500 swine without proper authorization. Holt said he self-reported the overflow after heavy rainfall.
—Note: Rep. Holt’s press release on the matter is below. Continue reading →

A partisan debate topic on the House floor Thursday was a resolution by state Rep. Andy Holt offering thanks to Tennessee’s two U.S. senators for declaring they will not vote for anyone nominated by President Barack Obama as a U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

“We hereby thank Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Bob Corker for their position to not move forward on a nomination to the Supreme Court by the current administration and expect their decision to refrain from entertaining a nomination by the current administration be sustained regardless of any conditions,” declares HR178.

“It looks like to me like we’ve got more important things to do than compliment senators on not doing the job they’re supposed to do … or for doing the job they’re supposed to do, for that matter,” said House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley.

But Holt said it was appropriate for legislators to back Alexander and Corker in refusing to consider Obama nominees when “his presidency is coming to a close, thank goodness.” Other Republicans, including Rep. Glen Casada of Franklin and Rep. William Lamberth of Gallatin, rallied to the cause in speeches.

Casada read quotations from Vice President Joe Biden, speaking when he was a Democratic U.S. senator, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York in opposition to Republican presidents submitting nominees to the Supreme Court late in their terms.

“We should recognize people when they’ve done something good,” he said, and the senators’ stance meets that standard.

Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, quoted the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death created the court vacancy at issue in Washington, as declaring senators should act promptly on court nominees and “would have been in opposition to what we’re complementing our senators for doing.”

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart of Nashville complained about “engaging in these partisan games” and supporting U.S. Senate Republicans in “obstructionism that the public finds so abhorrent.”

The resolution was approved on a 70-24 vote. Only one Democrat, Rep. John Mark Windle of Livingston, voted for it and no Republican voted against it, though four did not vote.

Holt filed the measure as a House-only resolution, so it does not go to the Senate and a copy will now be officially sent to Alexander and Corker.

News release from Rep. Andy Holt
NASHVILLE, March 4, 2016—On Friday, Tennessee State Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) announced that he will be asking the Attorney General to step in and deliver an opinion on the practice of using traffic cameras to enforce citations.

“This practice is so predatory it’s not even funny,” said Holt. “City officials and lawmakers know these companies are violating the law, but the almighty dollar speaks louder than the rights of Tennesseans.”

At question is a specific part of Tennessee State law that mandates “only POST-certified or state commissioned law enforcement officers shall be authorized to review video evidence from a traffic light signal monitoring system and make a determination as to whether or not a violation has occurred” (TCA 55-8-198 B(1)). However, Holt says that’s not happening.Continue reading →

News release/statement from Rep. Andy Holt
Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) has announced that he will not seek the 8th U.S. Congressional seat being vacated by Congressman Stephen Fincher.

“I am completely overwhelmed by the show of support we received while considering a run for Congress,” said Holt. “I received countless phones calls and emails from all over West Tennessee, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in pledges should I decide to get into the race.”

Holt said that after praying over the decision with family and friends, for the last two weeks, he felt like there was still work for him to do on the state-level.Continue reading →

News release/statement from state Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden
DRESDEN, Tenn., Feb. 12, 2016– A lot has been said, both negative and positive, about the fact that I am praying heavily over the decision of whether or not to run for Congress rather than just jumping in like a typical politician that smells blood in the water.

In my heart, I know that every decision I make must be guided by His grace, mercy and plan, as well as, my wife Ellie and our family. The decision to run for U.S. Congress shouldn’t be made in a split second. We are talking about a job that requires one soul acting as the voice of hundreds of thousands of people. This is a job that requires sacrifice, bravery, courage, grit, love, faith, grace; and most of all, a persistent will to stand firm when the wind is at your face. Do I believe I’m capable of that? Absolutely. However, to me, the idea of deciding (within mere moments of hearing Congressman Fincher isn’t running for reelection) to run for Congress without truly taking the time to fall on my knees and pray to God for his guidance with family and friends seems self-entitled and reckless. I simply am not that person.

I owe my family, friends, current constituents, as well as, potential future constituents more than that. These individuals deserve to be represented by someone that believes in something much more than their own ego and political agenda. I know that I cannot, nor should I make this decision on my own. At the end of the day, my family surrenders to a higher power. We surrender to His will and not our own.

If my wife Ellie and I decide to jump in this race with our family, I can promise you one thing… It’s because we have taken the time to humble ourselves before our Lord and pray that it’s the right thing to do for our community. And if we don’t jump in, it’s because we’ve taken the time to humble ourselves before the Lord and it’s simply not where He is calling us to go. Either way, we continue to love and value each and every one of you, and continue to pray that West Tennessee will be represented by someone that shares our values.
—Note: Those jumping almost instantly into the race after U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher announced he would not seek reelection were George Flynn, a millionaire who has unsuccessfully run for Congress previously; state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown; former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff, Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood; and Shelby County Commissioner Steve Basar.

News release from Rep. Andy Holt
On Tuesday, Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden) called for Tennessee Democratic Chairwoman Mary Mancini’s resignation in response to her attack on Republican leadership.

“Mary seems to be a one trick show,” said Holt. “Not a single shred of evidence of any wrongdoing regarding misconduct, which would warrant the resignation of House Speaker Beth Harwell, House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick or Caucus Chairman Glen Casada has been presented, yet Mary rushes to the cameras to call for resignations. This is essentially her one and only trick. Quite frankly, it’s starting to become a joke. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”Continue reading →

By Eric Schelzig, Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee lawmaker is voicing support for the cause of armed anti-government protesters who took over a remote national wildlife refuge in Oregon.

Republican state Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden took to Twitter on Monday to ask the protesters where he could send support for their effort. Holt later deleted the tweet but went on to debate the matter in subsequent posts.

Holt said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that although he doesn’t agree with the protesters’ tactics, he supports the goal of getting the federal government to turn over public land to the Western states. The lawmaker said he also opposes the prison sentences of two ranchers who set fire to federal land.

“They’ve drawn attention to something that I’ve been trying to draw attention to for years, which is the fact that we have a tyrannical federal bureaucracy on multiple levels,” Holt said.

“This is a protest of an onerous, tyrannical federal government,” he said. “Is it a great idea to take over a federal building? I wouldn’t have done it. But I’m going to lend them my moral support.”Continue reading →